Arthur Talmage Abernethy
| birth_place = Rutherford College, North Carolina | death_date = May | death_place = Asheville, North Carolina | occupation = Journalist, scholar, theologian, poet | language = English | alma_mater = Rutherford College, A.B. Trinity College, A.M. Johns Hopkins University, PhD | genre = Theology, biography, poetry | movement = | notableworks = | awards = North Carolina Poet Laureate | spouse = Edna Beatty (Lachot) }} Arthur Talmage Abernethy (October 10, 1872 - May 15, 1956) was an American poet, journalist, scholar, and theologian. He pastored several churches, contributed articles and poems to newspapers around the United States, and was named the first Poet Laureate of North Carolina 1948. Life Youth and education Abernethy was born in Rutherford College, North Carolina, a town named for the college of which his father was founder and president. Born the fifth son to Rev. Robert Laban and Mary Ann Hayes Abernethy, Arthur proved to be a precocious child, teaching himself telegraphy by the age of 9 and passing the exams to get his A.B. degree from Rutherford at the age of 14. He was denied this degree, however, due to his age. He remained at Rutherford College becoming professor of Latin in 1887 (making him among the youngest professors in the nation), teaching there for several years. Already a Latin and Greek scholar, he went on to receive his A.M. degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) in 1891 and his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University. Journalism and activism Abernethy soon turned his attention to journalism, becoming editor of The Telegrapher and a biographical writer for The Philadelphia Record. He befriended Edgar Wilson Nye who was an adviser to him. He contributed columns to The Charlotte Observer as well as newspapers around the country including Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, New York and Philadelphia. Some of his work appeared in Collier's Weekly. Phifer, 302. He had been married several times, the last time to widow Edna Beatty Lachot of Pennsylvania. She had two children and Abernethy adopted her daughter Anna Mary. He met his wife while serving as business manager for the Philadelphia College of Commerce. Abernethy was active in politics as well, becoming a leader in the Prohibition movement. He ran for United States House of Representatives in 1928 as an anti-Al Smith candidate, losing in the Democratic primary to incumbent Alfred L. Bulwinkle. He was instrumental in helping establish a Carnegie library in Rutherford College, the first free public library in Burke County.Phifer, 305. In 1938, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt named him an "American Ambassador of Sunshine." That same year, Governor Clyde R. Hoey declared Abernethy to be an honorary citizen for life of Charlotte, Hickory, Asheville, and Valdese, North Carolina. Later life and poet laureateship Abernethy turned to the ministry later in life, becoming pastor of several churches including First Methodist Church, Belmont, New York; a church in Cincinnati, Ohio; and just prior to retirement, Asheville Christian Church. He returned to North Carolina, becoming mayor of the town of Rutherford College for a time and a magistrate. As magistrate and later, Justice of the Peace, he frequently filed his reports with the Clerk of Court in verse. Throughout his life, Abernethy wrote many books and had many poems published. By his own account, he wrote over 50 books and over 3,000 poems. Surprisingly, he never published a collection of poetry. Abernethy died in Asheville, North Carolina, and is buried at Rutherford College Cemetery. Recognition Abernethy was close friends with North Carolina Governor R. Gregg Cherry who appointed him to the poet laureate position in November 1948. Originally, the term of office was supposed to last only a few weeks—until the end of Cherry's governorship – but Abernethy was reappointed by the next governor, William Kerr Scott, remaining in the post until Governor William B. Umstead appointed James Larkin Pearson. Publications Novels * The Hell You Say! A novel. Rutherford College, NC: privately published, 1893. * Bertie and Clara (1896) x *''The Apostles' Creed. A romance of religion''. Nashville, TN: Cokesbury, 1925. *''Christians' Treasure Island: A restoration romance''. St. Louis, MO: Bethany Press, 1927. *''A Royal Southern Romance: A biographical novel of facts''. Nashville, TN: privately published, printed by Parthenon Press, 1934. Short fiction *''Moonshine: Being Appalachia's Arabian Nights''. Asheville, NC: Dixie, 1924. Non-fiction * Mechanics and Practice of the Electric Telegraph. College, N.C.?: published?, 1890? * Did Washington Aspire to be King? (pamphlet). New York & Washington: Neale, 1906. * The Jew a Negro: Being a study of the Jewish ancestry from an impartial standpoint (pamphlet). Moravian Falls, NC: Dixie, 1910. *''Center-Shots at Sin: A series of evangelistic sermons''. Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1918. *''Twenty-Five Best Sermons''. Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1920. *''Crazy Americans''. Gastonia, NC: Glenn Printing, 1929. *''How to Raise a Boy Baby''. Lenoir, NC: Smith, 1930. * Where are Our Dead? Rutherford College, NC: privately published, , 1935? Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Arthur Talmage Abernethy, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 26, 2015. See also *List of U.S. poets References *>Edward W., Phifer, Jr., Burke: The history of a North Carolina county. Morgantown, NC: 1977. Notes External links ;Books *Arthur Talmage Abernethy at Amazon.com ;About *Arthur Talmage Abernethy at NCPedia *Abernethy, Arthur Talmage in the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography * Category:1872 births Category:1956 deaths Category:Poets from North Carolina Category:Poets Laureate of North Carolina Category:American newspaper journalists Category:American Christian theologians Category:Writers from North Carolina Category:Duke University alumni Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni Category:People from Burke County, North Carolina Category:20th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets